The Vine And The Branches 1. Jesus told us in John 15:1-8: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not

Transcription

1 The Vine And The Branches 1. Jesus told us in John 15:1-8: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. Jesus is the true vine, and the Heavenly Father is the husbandman. We, the church, are the branches. A. True-Greek-alopex (al-o-pakes): a cunning person, or one with skill, wisdom, and knowledge; one which produces or brings forth that which is lasting, or is not easily knocked down or scattered. B. Husbandman-Greek-georgos (gheh-ore-gos): a farmer, or one who works with the soil; and is usually in charge of a growing plantation. God, the Heavenly Father, is the husbandman of all the heavens and the earth. He sent his Son, Jesus, who is the main vine, or the way in which every person, who is considered as branches of the vine, must always find their way to the Heavenly Father. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. God, the husbandman, always desires for the branches, or his children, to come unto Him through the vine, or his Son. He also desires that every one of his children draw strength from Him through the vine, and that we allow that strength which we receive from the vine, to empower us to bring forth spiritual fruit. C. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away. We all know from practical experience, that a branch on a vine, or on a tree, which has lost it s ability to produce good fruit, has no beneficial purpose. For all that it does, is hang on to the vine until it becomes as a dead branch. It draws no strength from the vine, gradually deteriorating, and then it finally has to be removed from the vine, and destroyed. Every child of God who strays away from the Savior, Jesus, will lose their spiritual power, and will be of no benefit to the Heavenly Father. When we fail to allow Jesus to be the main

2 source of strength and direction in our life, we will soon become as a dead branch; being of no benefit to anyone. It is so very easy to become strayed away from the Savior, and not even realize it. When this happens, we become as ones who have no real burden to pray regularly, we lose our desire and hunger for the Word of God; and before we know it, nothing bothers us; and we find that we are far from the Savior. We become as a dead branch; fit for nothing but to be removed from the vine. But when we find ourselves in this condition, let us never forget that God is a forgiving God. He told us in 1 John 1:9, that if we confess our sins, that He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He loves us unconditionally. Regardless of how far we may stray from Him, He is always willing to show mercy toward us, forgive us, and make us as a new branch on the vine. Let us continually pray for one another, that we do not stray from the vine, and become as a dead branch. D. And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Greek-kathairo (kath-ah-ee-ro): to prune, or to remove any dead or dying parts, to clean the branch, and make it like new again; so as to give it better ability to reproduce more fruit in the future. E. Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. When Jesus speaks his Holy Word unto us, and we receive it, and abide by it, we are made spiritually clean from all sin and unrighteousness; and we are able to produce fruit which is beneficial to the Kingdom of God. F. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. Greek-meno (meno): to stay in a given relationship with (Jesus), or to dwell or remain with. Every child of God should continually seek to dwell in the presence, and have continual fellowship with Jesus; in order to draw strength from Him, and to receive the guidance, wisdom, and direction from Him, which we need to daily bear fruit which is beneficial to the Kingdom of God. G. I am the vine, ye are the branches. We must always realize that Jesus is the vine; the one from which we are strengthened, and given power to accomplish any task that we are to ever accomplish; including bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. It is only by looking unto Him as our source of life, that we will ever be able to grow, and prosper in any way. Without Him, we can do nothing! But Phil. 4:19 tells us: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. We are also told in John 4:14: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. A branch of a vine always receives it s water through the main vine; as the vine draws water out of the ground.

3 In the same way, we, the spiritual branches, must draw our water from the main spiritual vine, who is Jesus. H. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. If we continually abide in Jesus, and allow Him to live his life through us, we will bring forth much spiritual fruit, which will be of great benefit to the Kingdom of God, and which will glorify the name of Jesus. I. For without me ye can do nothing. Just as a dead branch on a vine, trying to bring forth fruit with no strength or water coming forth from the vine, when we get separated from Jesus, and do not allow Him to be the main source of strength for our life, we can do absolutely nothing which will ever be beneficial to ourselves or to anyone else. J. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. Greek-xeraino (xay-rah-ee-no): to dry up, shrink, become scorched, or to eventually become dead. When a person does not continually trust in Jesus, and continually rely upon Him as their source of strength, never takes the time to allow Him to feed them with his living water, or never takes the time to spend with Him in prayer, they will eventually become as a withered branch of a vine. Before long, all life will be gone out of them, and they will dry up and die. K. And men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. When branches become withered, they are no longer of any use to the vine. So they are cut off from the vine, piled in a pile with the other dead branches, and destroyed in the fire. Likewise, when we become as dead branches, and we are no longer of any use to the vine, who is Jesus, then we will be cut off from his presence and his hand of protection, and we will eventually be destroyed; or we will wither up and die. L. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Jesus is telling us, that if we continually abide in Him, and we allow his holy Word to abide in us, that we can ask Him whatever we desire, and it will be done. In order to abide in Jesus, we must take the time to talk to Him, and allow Him to talk to us. We must spend time in his Word, and learn to live by the guidance of his holy Word. We must allow his Holy Spirit to abide in us, and learn to follow his direction each day. Then we can expect Jesus to always answer our prayers. M. Herein is my Father Glorified. Greek-dorkas (dor-das): to honor, worship, or to give great praise to. The Father is continuously glorified, as we bear good fruit. N. That ye bear much fruit. The desire of every child of God, should be to always live a life that glorifies the name of Jesus, and to bear much fruit, or to draw others unto the Lord. The life of a Christian should be one that

4 causes others to look, and to see a life that they desire to follow. O. So shall ye be my disciples. Greek-mathetes (math-ay-tes): pupil, student, or learner. 2. God s desire is that every branch beareth good fruit. Matt. 7:16-20 tells us: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. A. Ye shall know them by their fruits. A person is recognized as to what kind of person they are, by the fruit which is seen in their life; or by the way in which they live their life. A person who is a Christian, will always be living a life of love and concern for others. They will always be concerned about being a help and an encouragement to others, and always wanting to do what pleases Jesus and the Heavenly Father. They will always have a desire for the Word of God, and always be realizing the need for prayer; knowing that God is their only source of help, and that his helping hand is always available when they need it. They will always be bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit which we are told of in Gal. 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. On the other hand, a person who is living their life as a dried up or withered branch, will never take the time to seek the guidance of the Lord, in the decisions which come before them. They will be the least concerned about reading the Word of God, or about whether or not they ever spend any time before the Lord. Praying is usually further from their mind than anything else. They do not care in the least, what other people think about the way in which they live their life. The picture which they paint before the world is most certainly not pleasing to the Lord Jesus at all. B. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? We all know that grapes do not come from thorn bushes, and neither do figs come from thistles. But grapes come from grape vines, and figs come from fig trees. Neither does a person who lives their life as a withered branch, bear spiritual fruit which is pleasing unto the Lord Jesus. Jesus is simply telling us, that if we watch the way a person lives their life, that we will easily be able to tell whether or not they are living a life which is pleasing to Him. C. Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. Greek-kalos (kal-os): beautiful, valuable, virtue, worthy, or beneficial (to God).

5 D. But a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. a. Corrupt-Greek-sapros (sap-ros): rotten, worthless, bad, non-beneficial (to God), or perishable. b. Evil-Greek-poneros (pon-ay-ros): harmful, diseased, wicked, malicious, bad, or grievous. E. A good tree must have a good rooting system. Just as a natural tree, must be firmly planted and rooted in good soil, so must a spiritual tree, be firmly planted and rooted in Jesus Christ. Without good rooting, a tree brings forth corrupt, rotten, or evil fruit. With good rooting, a tree brings forth beautiful, valuable fruit. Just as a good natural tree must be fed and watered well, so must a good spiritual tree, or a Christian, be well fed and watered. Jesus is both the bread of life, and the water of life. John 6:35 tells us: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And John 6:58: This is that bread which came down from Heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. And we also read in John 4:14: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. F. Once again, we are reminded of what happens to those branches, which fail to produce good fruit. Verse 19 of the above scripture tells us: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. What fire is Jesus referring to? The fire of Hell. Every branch that beareth not good fruit, the Father has no part in. If a person is truly rooted and grounded in Jesus as the vine of their life; even though they may stray away from Him for a while; will eventually return to Him and repent of any sin which they have committed. For their life has been planted by the Heavenly Father. Matt. 15:13 says: Every plant, which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. A branch of a tree which is not engrafted well into the tree, will eventually wither up and die. The same is true if a person is not firmly rooted in Jesus, the true vine. If we are not continuously being spiritually fed, both bread and water from Jesus, the main vine, then we will eventually wither up and die spiritually. And if we allow this spiritual starvation to continue for too long, it will eventually reach into the physical realm; until the Lord will see fit to remove us from the earth. For a Christian who is spiritually dead is of no benefit unto the Lord Jesus. 3. Eph. 5:25-27 tells us: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to

6 Himself, a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. A. Sanctify-Greek-hagiazo (hag-ee-ad-zo): to be made holy, purify, or to consecrate. B. Cleanse-Greek-katharizo (kath-ar-id-zo): to purify, made pure, or clean. C. He wanted to present a glorious church. Greek-endoxos (en-dox-os): splendid, gorgeous, lovely, honorable, or dignified. D. Not having spot. Greek-spilos (spee-los): a stain or blemish; to disgrace. E. Or wrinkle. Greek-rhutis (hroo-tece): fold; to be corrupted by anything which distorts the surface; a process which works from the inside out. The heart must be without corruption, sin, or any such thing, or else the outside will become corrupted, or wrinkled. F. Our life should be holy. Greek-hagios (hag-ee-os): sacred, blameless, free from sin, or righteous. G. We should be without blemish. Greek-amomos (am-o-mos): blame, fault, flaw, or sin. 4. We are always to be students or pupils of God; continuously learning to serve Him better, to walk closer to Him, and to abide daily in Him. How do we accomplish this? By continuously studying God's Word. 2 Tim. 2:15 tells us: Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. A. Study-Greek-spoudazo (spoo-dad-zo): to use speed, to put forth effort, be prompt or earnest, to be diligent, to endeavor or to labor, or to be eager at; without delay, at the present time. This word is from a Greek word which tells us to get busy, without delay; and put forth the required effort now, to obtain the necessary knowledge and skill, to be the servants which God desires for us to be; which must begin in the Word of God. B. To show thyself approved. Greek-dokimos (dok-ee-mos): acceptable, to be pleasing (to God), or to be of good reputation. C. A workman. Greek-ergates (er-gat-ace): laborer, teacher, performer, or leader; putting forth the required effort to be what the master (God) desires for us to be. D. That needeth not be ashamed. Greek-anepaischuntos (an-ap-ah-eeskhoon-tos): to feel disgrace, to feel as a failure, failing to achieve what one could have, or should have achieved. E. Rightly dividing. Greek-orthotomeo (or-thot-om-eh-o): correctly interpreting or correctly receiving, to have honest reception of, to have an open mind, as to allow the Spirit of God to clearly present the true meaning to one's mind, and to plant such in our hearts and spirits.

7 F. The Word of truth. The Word of God; the Bible. John 17:17 tells us: Thy Word is truth. John 8:31-32 tells us: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:36 also says: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. a. Free-Greek-eleutheroo (el-yoo-ther-os): unrestrained (in any spiritual way), delivered (from all the forces of evil-of Satan), to go at pleasure (without being held back by evil forces), exempt (from all the powers and traps of Satan). b. Indeed-Greek-ontos (on-toce): truly, entirely, certainly, completely or totally; without any chance of Satan or his evil forces ever again being able to overcome us in any way. 5. John 15:9 tells us: As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. Greek-meno (men-o): to stay, or to remain in a particular condition or state. Love is the most important fruit, which we as Christians must always bear. Without love, nothing we ever attempt to do or accomplish, will be worthwhile. 6. John 15:10-15, tells us: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. To love one another, is the greatest commandment of all. It is the way to having the joy of the Lord within us; and to being certain, that his joy continues to dwell in us; by loving one another. We could never ask for a greater and truer friend than Jesus. He gave his life for us on the cross of Calvary. And the way in which we prove our friendship to Him, is by being obedient unto Him; always attempting to obey the Word of God. And Jesus makes known unto us, all that He knows that our human mind can comprehend. Jesus obeys the orders of the Heavenly Father, and in like manner, we, if we are truly his friend, obey his orders. 7. Verse 16 tells us: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,

8 and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. A. Chosen-Greek-eklegomai (ek-leg-om-ahee): selected. B. Ordained-Greek-tithemi (tith-ay-mee): appointed, called, or set forth (for a particular purpose). C. Our fruit should remain. Greek-meno (men-o): to stay put, continue, or to not be moved from a particular place or position. D. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you. As long as we continue to serve the Heavenly Father faithfully, and we bear fruit that remains, we can be assured that the Heavenly Father will always answer our prayers which we pray in Jesus name. Conclusion: We, as children of God, are as his trees which should continuously bear good fruit. We are as branches of the vine; the vine being Jesus. We must continuously bear good fruit, or we will eventually become withered, and be hewn down, and spiritually die. We, as children and disciples of God, must continuously remain attached to Him; which we do by continuously studying his Word, and through sincere and faithful prayer and fellowship with Him. Jesus came to set us completely free, from Satan and his evil forces. In order to remain free, we must stay attached to the vine, Jesus. We should daily be checking our fruit, to be certain that we are bearing good fruit. Calvin Smith